Headlamp relay fun

[Pete Lewis]

Nah  wont help me  the cars is washed 

and i do keep lenses and reverse camera clean 

pete

 

[Wagger]

36 minutes ago, Pete Lewis said:

the LED on my daily caugth me out whilst bright and white there seems less light penetration and going to the pub meet 

nearly came a cropper as you couldnt tell the  layby from the slip road , in all my years ive never had that trouble 

anchored up just in time to dive into the slip road ... hairy moment of where hell are we ..in the dark i suppose 

the automatic main dip functions very well but i would sooner have confidence in seeing is believing not wtf Oops!! followed by a lot of gravel 

dont get me going on silly designer lenses with more stray light chards spewing in all directions coming towards you  

bring back the old round lense with a accurate flat top cut off ....it just works 

Pete

I agree Pete. I remember the days before Halogen, and some 6 Volt systems. I put cheap Wipac 7 inch Halogen units on my first car in 1970. It was a transformation.

[Pete Lewis]

we did that on a ford prefect back in the 60s when we should have been in evening tech college  

pete

[Iain T]

There are a set of halogens for a Vitesse on mk1classiccarparts Ebay site for £60 or £70 including bulbs. Anyone ever used them? 

Iain 

[Colin Lindsay]

Chic Doig has a Summer Offer on a set; £89.50; can't make out the brand but they may be Ring?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/350668157741?hash=item51a573732d:g:FeMAAOxynhFRBY3q

[Badwolf]

I have noticed that using dipped headlights, they don't put enough light on the road to make a difference in the dark gaps between the pools of light put down by led street lights, especially on the side streets. I suppose that it could be my eyesight but strange that it's only gone worse since getting this replacement modern.

[PeteH]

Modern "poly-carbonate" type light fitting covers tend to degrade over time, they go misty/opaque. I`ve resorted to using fine cutting compounds on them to recover "brightness", trouble is once you do it it`s a repeat every 6 month or so job. Replacement units are an horrendous price!.

Pete

 

[Iain T]

On 27/01/2022 at 09:38, Badwolf said:

have noticed that using dipped headlights, they don't put enough light on the road to make a difference in the dark gaps

My problem with my Xenon lights is lack of detail ie where's the side of the countryside road! They seem far worse than my previous car. Things don't necessarily get better they just get value engineered. 

Iain 

[Wagger]

Those of you that know more about Physics than me will probably know what the difference is between the light radiated by various types of bulb. Our eyes deteriorate too as we age, and there must be an 'Optimum' for us. My three remaining brothers all have cataracts and only two still drive, but never in the dark.

I have none yet, but have scans every six months because Glaucoma is a genetic problem with us.  My modern car has Halogens and clear acrylic lenses. No wipers or washers on them to cause scratches. Value engineer deleted those, but put halogens on the 'Budget' model. How fortunate for me!

One of the arguments 'For' Xenons was that they use less current. Typically 36watts instead of 50.

I have yet to drive a car with LED's. What are they like?

[Pete Lewis]

i would also guess that with OE lighting on a modern that LED are actually cheaper than filaments

same as a silly touch screens is far cheaper than mechanical heater etc controls keep eyes on the road is not easy these days 

as some controls are distracting, even looking to get the right buttons on the steering wheel 

Pete

[Wagger]

2 minutes ago, Pete Lewis said:

i would also guess that with OE lighting on a modern that LED are actually cheaper than filaments

same as a silly touch screens is far cheaper than mechanical heater etc controls keep eyes on the road is not easy these days 

as some controls are distracting, even looking to get the right buttons on the steering wheel 

Pete

Yup, I turn my central display 'Off' at night. Satnav, when used, is always on the headrest behind me so I can hear but never see it. Too many folk use it as a camera, shooting straight across junctions.

[Pete Lewis]

,my display goes almost invisible (selectable) with headlights on or the light reflects the inside of the windscreen screen and that really dulls any outside visibility 

Progress....Nah  !!

Pete

[Iain T]

2 hours ago, Pete Lewis said:

Progress....Nah

But still better than a map on your lap while driving! 

Anyway my headlights are definitely brighter, even with the sealed beam lamps. Now I've got up close and personal I seem to have at least three different makes of lamps and lens designs. I suppose the PO's replaced with whatever was to hand. The nearside dip/main is a proper Lucas unit. 

Iain 

[Pete Lewis]

think i have a pair of 75watts sealed beam main original units knocking around 

I fitted a set of Crystals  not entirely convinced the pattern is right but quite illuminating

Pete

[PeteH]

4 hours ago, Pete Lewis said:

even looking to get the right buttons on the steering wheel 

Now that is Most annoying, and they are SO small too (or at least SWMBO`s car is). The one`s on the Merc; are bigger. but they don't work anyway as I swapped the Merc; Radio for a Sony unit which in not "compatible"!.

Pete

[Colin Lindsay]

19 minutes ago, PeteH said:

but they don't work anyway as I swapped the Merc; Radio for a Sony unit which in not "compatible"!.

Pete

That's what put me of doing the same in my Ford; the current radio unit is rubbish, but whilst there are plenty of far better units out there, they don't work with the steering wheel controls.

[Badwolf]

What is the point of push buttons. You have to look away from the road to find them never mind read them. I still haven't a clue what most of them do on my modern. The computers do but me!!!??? I mourn the passing of the good old controls that you could operate by feel. Like the tactile controls on our Triumphs.

 

[Colin Lindsay]

6 minutes ago, Badwolf said:

Like the tactile controls on our Triumphs.

 

You mean the big round knob that's the gearstick and the one with the keyring that starts the car?

[Badwolf]

Yes, and that big round thingie that turns the front wheels, the one with the simple push button that makes the horrid noise, to see off the cyclists (whoops, wrong thread)

[thescrapman]

8 hours ago, Wagger said:

 

I have yet to drive a car with LED's. What are they like?

My Insignia has projector headlights, and had the standard fit halogen bulbs, utterly useless, two murky piss-holes in the snow . And I didn't even get people flash me if I left the main beams on. Utterly utterly useless.

Post purchase research revealed I should have looked for 1 with Xenon lights.

roll on a couple of years and One of the P45 headlight bulbs fails, and at £45 each, I went in search of LED replacements. £40 a pair.

What a difference, wish I had done it years earlier.

Much better light spread, the whiteness of the LED is so much better than the yellow of the halogens. 

And I can dazzle the idiots in their German cars that don't care that they drive on main beam permanently,

[PeteH]

2 hours ago, Badwolf said:

push button that makes the horrid noise,

I still have a set of Air horns that play "Colonel Bogey" and several other "tunes" somewhere kicking about. Goes back to my "Mid life crisis", when I had a bright Orange Capri Mk 2 which I called the colonel, and C-B radio etc;. Simple life really. I used to take it to Works B-S meetings just to annoy my line manager, after he gave me a bollocking for using my BMW motorcycle for work related journeys😁 "not done you know, old boy, not done, bad for the image".

Pete

[Pete Lewis]

somewhere it will say only adjust the controls or setting when youre not driving   ...its progress !!!

you can at least turn knobs twiddle levers , push buttons without looking at them or the screen to see what you have selected 

Pete

[Chris A]

1 hour ago, Pete Lewis said:

somewhere it will say only adjust the controls or setting when youre not driving   ...its progress !!!

you can at least turn knobs twiddle levers , push buttons without looking at them or the screen to see what you have selected 

Pete

The current trend of everything being controlled via a touch screen worries me, it's bad enough people using phones while driving let alone now having to use screens to change the heating settings.

[Wagger]

My 2007 Car still has knobs and switches. A few buttons on the steering wheel. I use a mobile with buttons, and never enabled the touch screen on my computer in order to keep the screen clean. I do not want anything 'later'.

I use the 'Mouse' with my left hand and have a pen in the right hand when browsing.

Phone is always 'Off' when driving. It is the only 'Peaceful' time I can get.

[Badwolf]

I don't use my mobile phone much. When I do need it it's usually flat!!! On this modern I linked it to the Bluetooth thingie. Scared me to death the first time the phone rang through the car system. Then I couldn't figure out where the phone 'on' switch was on the stearing wheel. Then there was the time when the car rummaged through the (very few) records on my phone and started playing it's own choice of music 'without me even touching 'em' (apologies to the late Gerry Anderson - Four Feather Falls). If this is 'the future', I'm not all that kean. Back to dinosaur mode - pass the brontosaurus burgers.